Well, I am relatively new to the Joe collecting crowd. Still not sure I fit in.

I came in with the release of the 25th and have continued into ROC despite hoping I would be done when the 25th ended.
Of course marketing as it is, kind of drags you in.

I am reluctant to give it up as it is really my only hobby right now. At the same time with the economy where it is . . .

I like a lot of the stuff coming out. But with the price increases, the frustration of finding the good stuff on shelves and coupling that with no nostalgic connection - except the occasional Old Line re-imagining - $8 or more figs will push me away.

i've only picked up one ROC figure and it was my sons request using his gift card so, so far i have not spent anything on ROC.

i liked the gi joe movies, i don't buy the movie figures. i liked the gi joe movie, i don't buy the movie figures. as others have mentioned, there just isn't any emotional connection to this line therefore not compelling enough for me to pay the crazy prices for them. i do see a couple that i will end up getting at some point like the new snow serpent and strato/air viper but for the most part, no thanks. it's really just a big circle jerk of a few figures. grey viper, black viper, red viper, snake eyes this, snake eyes that, desert duke, duke with a donut (joking). it really got annoying to see the rehash of 25th figures and i'm already even more annoyed at seeing countless variations of the same figures with the ROC line. by xmas we will probably see back yard barbque figures.

the vehicles are equally uninspiring for me, and ofcourse, the price points make it even easier to walk away. granted, if the prices had stayed the same, i would likely have a couple buy now but right now, no thank. i'll wait for xmas sales, clearance sales, etc.

the tru figure sales have been very tempting, too bad they never really have anything worth getting. maybe next year.

i think i'll just scour the buy/sell/trade forum and ebay for loose 25th/me figures.

like others, i never intended to be a collector. i just saw the 25th line and got hooked. i now have an army of figures and vehicles that i'm not always sure i know what to even do with but just looking at them all gives me a smile. i get to watch the vintage toons with my kids, mock play room battles, back yard custom builds, etc. times i know i will always remember more than the live action movie.

Another thing about collecting is it's becoming less fun (for me at least). Way back when (1995 or so) I got back into figure collecting when Star Wars relaunched. The original idea was to get a few figures and place them around my computer or entertainment center for the ha-ha's and giggles.

that's basically my approach. while I do have several display shelves in my basement, I get the figures I want and I don't need multiples of a character, regardless of new costume or not. I am, in no way, a completist and I find it makes me a bit saner than the days of needing every incarnation of each character, any variants, etx...

i caved and bought a single crimson viper. i left all the pit commandos, elite vipers, eels, helix's, flash, other crimson vipers. they were in the aisle, not the end cap display. that was rifled through pretty good and nothing of value left.

germantown target had the exclusives and all the usual peg warmers.

gaithersburg tru had nothing but peg warmers. tons of barbques filling the pegs.

still can't find any stores with 25th stuff other than the tru stuff still at full price.

Wave 5 and Wave 2 of target exclusives will be on pegs by the middle of September if online retailers are expecting to start shipping around the same time. That means our beloved Resolute Snake eyes will be up for grabs on the pegs. We can also expect to see loads of unneccesary repaints repacked and sold through retailers just to take up shelf space...

i'm waiting for the 25th style ROC figures to find anything worth buying. other than the crimson viper which i bought simply because it was labled crimson (bit of a crimson guard nut) i haven't seen what i want. i don't like the current target exclusive repaints at all. the other 25th style ROC figures out currently are less than enticing as well.

i'll buy a crimson viper once a paycheck until i get 5 for my cg army display but still holding out on the ROC line in general for something compelling like the ROC snow serpent.

question though, at the rate these are peg warming, are you guys concerned that the well supplied first couple waves are going to make the next batch harder to find? it smells of the 25th reissue waves scenario to me where the germantown/gaithersburg/rockville stores overstocked the reissue waves blocking the restock of the newer waves.

i don't know when i'll be out at the stores again ( i don't go out much anymore) but if anyone has requests, i'll keep an eye out. it seems i got to walmart just after they restocked to find a bunch of the ones you guys are looking for.

fyi, my son wants rex. let me know if anyone see's him. so far the neo viper and rex are the only ones he has said he wanted. we both want the snake armor too.